


Distortion

by mcgonamum



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, F/M, Minor Character(s), Not Canon Compliant, Not Canon Compliant - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, POV Minor Character, Rare Pairings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:08:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27480079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgonamum/pseuds/mcgonamum
Summary: WARNING: OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR"It's not my fault you're not an interesting person, Bones."In which a Plain-Jane Hufflepuff falls in love with a notably obnoxious Slytherin.
Relationships: Hannah Abbott/Neville Longbottom, Susan Bones/Cassius Warrington
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott walked down the corridor to Professor Flitwick's Charms class. Upon entering, the two split up to their (unfortunately) assigned seats, where Hannah got to sit next to their friend Ernie Macmillan, and Susan had to sit next to Cassius Warrington, a star quidditch player in Slytherin house.

The class was nearly full, the second bell was about to ring, but Susan's desk mate was not yet in class. She took this as a good sign, now she could spread her books across the desk instead of forcing them into the top corner, where they would crowd over the edges of the desk and get knocked down by passer byers. The bell rang, and students took their seats as Susan spread her books out. Professor Flitwick walked to the front of the class and stood on his podium so that all the students could see him.

"Good morning class, today we are going to be learning the water summoning charm, _augamenti_. We will be taking a quick note on how to perform this charm and the history of it, and then you and your partner will take turns pouring water into a bucket," the professor explained. Susan opened her books to the pages written on the chalkboard and pulled out a blank piece of parchment and began writing the note that appeared as well.

_It's unknown who invented this spell and when. The wand movement for this spell is a smooth wave movement from right to left. The Water-Making spell also appears to be the opposite of the Fire-Making Spell, which conjures a flame._  
_Depending on the caster's concentration and intentions, this charm can be anything from a simple jet of water to a wave. The spell's incantation is Aguamenti._  
  
Halfway through the note, the seat next to Susan was filled, and she was forced to crowd her books around her. She quickly looked over at Cassius Warrington, who paid no attention to her. He was busy having a silent conversation with Blaise Zabini, who sat at the table next to them.

"Today you will only be making a small trickle of water come out of you wands, it is simple and will be easy for you, but there will be another lesson on controlling how much water comes out of your wand tomorrow, so I urge you _not_ to try and force more water to come out. By incorrectly performing the spell, it may counteract itself and perform the fire summoning charm instead, which will _not_ be good." Stated Professor Flitwick. The class chuckled quietly as they finished copying the note and put their books away and awaiting further instruction.

"Okay class, pull out your wands and say it with me, _auguamenti_... Good, good," he said after the class unenthusiastically murmured the incantation. "Now watch me," he continued. The professor did a slow motion with his wand and water started to trickle out. "Now you try, and say the incantation."

The class all tried, their wands over the large buckets that were magicked onto their desk. A few students were able to get it on their first try, however, Susan and Cassius were not one of them. They tried over and over, and finally, on the sixth try, Susan got it. A steady trickle of water fell from the tip of her wand, and she grinned. Cassius scowled at her wand before trying again. His motions were quick and sharp.

"Do you want help?" Susan asked quietly. 

"No— I can do it by myself," replied Cassius. It wasn't in a rude tone, but it definitely wasn't in a _nice_ tone either. After a few more tries he seemed to give up, and Susan stepped in.

"Your wand motions are too pointed. When you change directions, curve your wand the other way instead of jagging it."

Cassius picked his wand up off the table and tried again, using Susan's suggestions. A drop of water formed, but not enough to satisfy Cassius. He groaned and tried to put his wand back down, but Susan grabbed his arm. "No," she said firmly. "Try again, but go a bit slower."

Cassius pulled his arm away and rolled his eyes. Trying again, his movements were significantly slower and his voice was clearer. Finally, a small stream of water flowed from his wand. He looked up at Susan and smiled genuinely. "Thanks, Bones. I guess you're not that bad."

Susan scoffed sarcastically. "I didn't know I wasn't good, Warrington." She laughed.

"Whatever, Bones, dont ruin it," he huffed.

"Well— thanks I guess."

"Whatever."

Susan smiled to herself and could see Cassius doing the same from the corner of her eye. Cassius leaned back in his chair and put his hands on the back of his head, something Susan noticed that he did a lot. She sneaked a glance at him and he started to do the same, but before he could turn to face her, Susan whipped her head to focus her attention back on Professor Flitwick, who was giving closing remarks before the bell rang.

"Now, I'm going to assign a project due for next Friday. You and your desk partner will construct a vessel— or any shape that can hold water. The one that can hold the most water will win, no waterproofing spells can be used, I'm going to spell check the object before testing," Professor Flitwick announced as the bell rang. "I'll see you all tomorrow."

Susan rushed out of the classroom to catch up with Hannah and Ernie. "That class was so boring!" Ernie exclaimed as Susan caught up to them.

"Speak for yourself, I always enjoy learning new charms," Hannah replied.

"Charms is bogus," Susan said. "You can just find them all in books. There's no need for an entire class. We barely do anything anyways."

"Speaking of barely doing anything, I saw Warrington trying to do the water conjuration charm. He's a bit helpless, isn't he?" Stated Ernie with a laugh.

Hannah and Ernie looked at Susan expectantly, waiting for her to agree with them. Instead she said: "I felt bad for him, he tried really hard and still couldn't get it."

"Well maybe if he spent less time on the quidditch pitch and more time in the library, like us, he wouldn't have that problem," Hannah suggested with a sarcastic tone.

"Whatever, Hannah," Susan said as they got to the Great Hall. As they made their way to their usual spot at the Hufflepuff table, Susan noticed Cassius' friends making fun of him.

"He's fancies her! He's in _loooove_ ," one of them said in a song-songy voice. Susan saw Cassius flush and turn away from them with a huge grin on his face. His eyes met Susan's for a moment and she frowned as he turned back to face his friends quickly.

"I swear I don't," he said, his smile getting bigger and his face growing more red as he denied their accusations.

Susan sat down in between Hannah and Ernie, with Justin sitting across from them. They sat in silence for a moment, their hunger consuming all space for their actions and thoughts. Susan bit into a second sandwich when finally, after a few minutes of quiet, Ernie spoke up.

"Did you hear about Harry Potter? Caught using magic outside of school last summer. He almost got expelled, if Dumbledore hadn't stepped in," Ernie said.

"Yes, I know, Ernie. My aunt was the one who encouraged the court to let him go, remember?" Stated Susan. Everyone knew that Susan's family was well respected wizarding lawyers, aurors, and cabinet members, especially her friends, who knew her family personally.

"I just feel bad for Potter, you know? I judged him badly in our second year, thought he was trying to attack me with that bloody snake, but it turned out to not be him," said Justin.

"Yeah, maybe we shouldn't go judging him too quickly, he has saved the entire school's arses dozens of times in the past five years, and I bet he'll do it again," pointed out Susan.

"Maybe he will, but Rita skeeter wrote a bunch about how he is a threat to us all, what about those articles?" Asked Hannah.

"Rita skeeter hasn't written an article about Harry Potter since the triwizard tournament two years ago. I doubt she'll start up again soon too, after all that backlash once Harry won the tournament," Susan Stated.

"I'm sure she'll bring up some drama soon," huffed Justin with an eye roll.

"I quite like Rita's articles, they give me things to talk about," explained Ernie as Susan and Justin looked at him with misunderstanding written all over their faces. They couldn't understand why Ernie was such a lover of gossip, maybe it was because of his two older sisters, Elspeth and Henrietta. They always seemed to be in everyone else's business.

Susan finished her sandwich and stood up, dusting the crumbs off her robes and hands. "I've got to go, there's a potions essay I need to finish before the new lesson tomorrow. I don't want to fall behind before class even starts," she explained before waving goodbye to her friends and walking out of the Great Hall and towards the Library.

Susan walked past Madame Pince, who glared at her as the floorboards creaked beneath her feet. Susan tried to walk more quietly towards the back of the library, where she sat down at a table and pulled out the essay that she had started a few days before. It was nearly ten inches, she just needed to add her conclusion and it would be finished.

Unscrewing her ink bottle and pulling out a quill from her bag, Susan began writing her conclusion when she saw someone sit down across from her through her peripheral vision. She looked up to see Cassius working on one of his assignments across from her. He didn't look up when she coughed, so Susan continued working on her essay. Halfway through the conclusion, Cassius started talking.

"When do you want to start the Charms assignment?" He asked.

Susan looked up in shock. "I didn't think you would want to. I thought that I would be doing all the work."

"No, I'm not like that," Cassius replied. "I wouldn't force all that on you. Besides, I want to win this competition, maybe there'll be a prize for the capsule with the most water."

Susan laughed. "How about tomorrow after dinner? Then we'll have all the information about the assignment. In the meantime, we can try thinking of materials we can use to build the bucket out of. We can make a list tomorrow morning, in class."

"Sounds great, Bones. See you then."

"Bye, Warrington."


	2. Chapter 2

Susan sat down next to Cassius in the Library.

"Hello Suzy woozy," he smirked.

Susan frowned. "Suzy woozy?" She spat, her words freckled with disapproval.

"I thought I would change things up. Clearly I thought wrong," he chuckled.

Susan rolled her eyes. "Let's just focus on the assignment. What should our vessel be made of?" She Asked.

"I don't know, maybe we should look for some books about waterproof materials. Wouldn't it be cool if we made it out of seaweed or something from the black lake?" He asked.

"Do you know how thin Seaweed is? Once we fill it with water, it'll completely fall apart," Susan pointed out.

"Whatever, Bones. You're such a buzz kill."

"A What?"

"A buzz kill, you kill the buzz."

"I have no idea what that means, Warrington."

"It's American slang. It means that you're no fun."

"Oh shut up, Warrington."

Cassius grinned. "It's not my fault you're not an interesting person, Bones."

Susan gasped. "Well it's not my fault you're a snobby git!" She snapped back.

Cassius gasped sarcastically and placed a hand over his heart. "I am offended," he said, turning away from Susan to hide his frown.

"Whatever, Warrington, get over it. Let's start working on this bloody assignment."

After searching through books for about thirty minutes for materials, someone else sat down at their table. Susan looked up to see Cassius doing a special handshake with Blaise Zabini, another Slytherin in their year.

"Hey Cass, what's up?" Blaise asked, looking at Susan confused.

"We're working on this Charms assignment that Flitwick gave us, why?" Cassius replied.

"No reason, can I sit?" He asked.

Susan looked up at the newcomer. "You already are," She stated.

Blaise and Cassius laughed. "You're funny, Bones."

"I wasn't trying to be," she said as she struggled to tie her hair in a knot on the top of her head. After finally getting her hair in the hair tie, she let out a sigh and looked over at the boys.

"Not to intrude, or anything, but we've really got to get back to this assignment, Warrington," Susan said.

"Wow, what a buzz kill!" Exclaimed Blaise with a smile.

"Oh, not this again," Susan sighed and rested her head on the palm of her hand.

"Alright, Zabini, I'll see you later," Cassius and Blaise did a weird "man-hug" where they used one arm and didn't hug each other all the way before Blaise went back to wherever he came from, right after giving Susan one more look.

"I told you that you were buzz kill," Cassius said.

Susan balled up a piece of scrap parchment and threw it at him. "Shut up," She said.

Cassius grinned and picked up the paper ball, looking at Susan evilly before throwing it back at her. Susan stood up and tried to lunge at Cassius, but missed. He got up and ran down the aisles of the library, laughing. Susan was right on his tail, prepared to throw the parchment ball at him. She threw the ball and it hit Cassius square in the back of the head. She laughed as he stopped and spun around and glared at her.

"You're going to pay for that, Bones!" He exclaimed, picking up the ball and charging after Susan, who was already sprinting down the aisles the opposite way, bumping into the bookshelves with every turn she took because she was laughing so hard. She could hear Cassius' footsteps coming closer from behind her so she pushed herself even harder, turning down another aisle and hiding in a dark corner before Cassius could turn too.

A few seconds later, Susan was trying to control her heavy breaths as Cassius turned the corner, coming to a halt as he realized that she wasn't there. He searched up and down the aisle but didn't notice her. There was no other escape than from where they came in.

"Bones, I know you're in here, I'm going to get you!" He exclaimed.

Susan remained silent. Her heart was pounding and she was sure that he would've been able to hear it if it wasn't for Cassius' own heart pounding forcefully as well.

Cassius took a few steps further into the aisle and stayed silent. Susan sat silently for a moment. Then she silently panicked before giving a small hiccup. Cassius spun in her direction and the two made eye contact. Susan quickly crawled out of the corner and tried to run out, but found herself pinned to the floor. Cassius has tackled her. And had the ball raised above his head, ready to throw it at her.

There was a loud gasp and the two looked over to the end of the hall. Madame Pince stood there, a pile of books in her hand and her mouth wide open. "There is no fooling around in the library! Get out, the two of you! I don't want to see you here for a very long time!" She said in a menacing whisper of a voice.

Cassius and Susan stood up as fast as they could and scrambled away from the librarian, grabbed their books, and ran out of the library. Once they reached the exit of the library, they ran down the corridor too, until they were at the top of a staircase, gasping for breath and red in the face.

"She's— scary when— she's— angry—" Cassius huffed with an airy laugh.

Susan laughed and sucked in a large breath. "She's scary all the time, Cassius, you're just never in the library to see her," she replied.

Cassius looked shocked. "What?" He asked.

"What do you mean, 'what?' I've never seen you in—"

Cassius cut her off. "That's not what I meant— you called me by my name!" He exclaimed with a grin.

"What? What are you talking about, Warrington?"

"I swear, you called me Cassius!"

"No I didn't, Warrington, you're being delusional, maybe you should see Madame Pomfrey," Susan laughed as she started walking away.

"Oh whatever, Suzy," he groaned. "Where are you going?" He asked

"To my common room? I thought we were done," she replied with a hint of annoyance.

"We barely even started!" Cassius exclaimed.

"Well we would've gotten further in our project if you hadn't been talking to Blaise Zabini for all that time!" Susan spat back.

"Oh— okay! So you'll call Blaise by his name, but not me?" Cassius asked, he sounded hurt.

"Yes, because I don't like you!" Susan shouted.

"But you like him?!"

"I don't like him either, but at least he's not a prick like you!"

Cassius turned away from Susan. "Whatever, Bones," he murmured before walking away.

Fuming, Susan spun and sped towards the Hufflepuff common room, ready to tell Hannah everything, but when she got there, she found no one. It seemed that everyone had been out in the Great Hall for lunch, so Susan made her way to her dormitory. It was empty there too. Susan took off her shoes and necktie and lied down under her warm bedsheets, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

"Like I said before, it's not my fault you're not an interesting person, Bones," Warrington sighed as rushed down the aisles of the library, putting the books back on the shelves, Susan was right behind him, scowling.

"And it's not _my_ fault you're a pompous arse!" Susan exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air and putting them back down forcefully.

"I'm just saying, Bones, that maybe if you weren't so boring, more people would pay attention to you, like what's his name- Macmillan?"

"I definitely do not want Ernie Macmillan to notice me, Warrington. And besides, we're already friends."

"Then why were you staring at him in Potions yesterday?" Cassius looked back at Susan and grinned as he slid a book onto the shelf.

Susan rolled her eyes. "I was _not_ staring at Ernie," she replied. "I was looking at the board, trying to figure out how many times I needed to stir my sleeping draught, which _by the way,_ I made perfectly."

"Yes, and it was all thanks to me, who already knew what I was doing. I've been making sleeping draughts since first year."

"Wha— how?" Susan made an 'o' shape with her mouth in shock.

"Perks of being in Slytherin. Close your mouth, you'll catch flies."

Susan mockingly stuck her tongue out at Cassius and he turned back around. "Come on, Bones, we need to study for the Charms test." He said with a tone of annoyance.

"Hey! It's not _my_ fault we lost a grade because of the Charms competition. You were the one who decided to _cheat_ by putting a waterproofing spell on our capsule. Flitwick specifically said—"

"—yeah, well I don't care what Flitwick said. It took me a week to figure out how to perform that spell."

"And it did you no good in the long run, Warrington."

"Yes it did," Cassius grinned.

Susan sighed. "What did you do, Warrington? What good did the spell do?"

Cassius smiled suspiciously. "I waterproofed something else," he replied with a grin.

"What? What could you have possible waterproofed?"

Cassius continued to grin in silence until Susan's glare became nearly murderous. "My cloak," he said. Another pause. "And my hair."

Susan sighed. "You didn't!"

Cassius' grin grew even wider as Susan laughed. "Try it, spray me with water," he said. "Go on!" He encouraged.

Susan pulled out her wand reluctantly and performed the water summoning charm. A thick stream of water sprayed right onto Cassius head. When the water stopped, his face and neck were soaked, but his hair was completely dry. Susan barked out a laugh, leaned over, and started wheezing, to which Cassius grinned.

"You're funny," she said once she calmed down.

"Thank you," replied Cassius with a grin.

Susan smiled and turned back to the bookshelf to hide her blush. Putting on a straight face, she said: "we need to study."

Cassius sighed, "we don't need to study much, just a quick study session," he said.

"Nice try. Let's study."

"Whatever, Bones," Cassius said glumly.

Susan paused for a moment. "Why do you always refer to people by their last name?" She Asked.

"Because, _Bones_..." Cassius hesitated. "I don't know," he continued after a minute.

"Well, it shows more respect to call people by their first name, besides the professors, of course," Susan stated.

"Well, you call me by my last name," Cassius pointed out.

"Well, that's because you do the same to me," Susan replied.

"Well if you stop calling me Warrington then I'll stop calling you Bones," Cassius suggested.

"I guess it wouldn't be _terrible_ to call you Cassius."

"Well there we have it, Bo— Susan."

"What, no Suzy Woozy?" Susan laughed.

"Oh, shut it, Susan." Susan and Cassius laughed quietly before going back to their books.

Only thirty or so minutes passed when Cassius closed his book. Susan looked up. "What?" She Asked.

"I mean, we don't _actually_ need to study, we're two of the three best students in our grade at Charms," he said.

Susan looked confused. "I'm clearly the second best at Charms, but you are definitely _not_ the third best."

Cassius frowned. "Oh yeah? Then who would you suggest is the best?" He asked.

"Hannah, obviously! Have you _seen_ her levitation charm? She could lift up the entire school if she wanted to!" Susan exclaimed.

"Abbott may have been good at Charms in first year, but that was five years ago, and I've definitely gotten way better than her since then."

"Whatever you say, Cassius."

"I'm being serious, Susan! Besides, Abbott's strong suit is clearly Herbology. Her and Longbottom should get together."

Susan laughed. "Hannah and Neville? That's actually a good idea, Cass."

Cassius smiled. "I know, I think about stuff like that when I'm bored," he said. "Who should date who, houses not considered."

"Really? That sounds like a fun game," Susan stated.

"Yeah, it keeps me occupied," he replied.

"What about me, who do you picture me with?" She Asked.

Cassius paused. "I don't know..." he said. "I... haven't thought about who you should date yet," he lied.

Susan frowned. "Oh," she said disappointedly. "What about you? Do you picture yourself with anybody?" She Asked.

"Yes," he replied. "But I'm not saying who, so don't ask."

Susan's frown turned into a small smile as she laughed. "Why, are you embarrassed?"

"No... I'm just not keen on telling you who I fancy," he replied as his cheeks turned pink.

Susan grinned. "I heard your friends a couple weeks ago at lunch, teasing you about loving some girl, so she must be in one of your first two classes, which are Herbology and Charms. And I'm in your Charms class, and you clearly don't fancy a Hufflepuff, so it's with whatever house you have in Herbology, so either Slytherin or— what house do you have Herbology with?"

"Ravenclaw," Cassius replied. He sighed in relief as Susan's eyes lit up, thinking she had solved the puzzle.

"So either a Ravenclaw or a Slytherin girl. There's Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode and Daphne Greengrass in Slytherin, and in Ravenclaw there's Isobel MacDougal, Sue Li, Mandy Brocklehurst, Padma Patil, and Lisa Turpin... am I missing anyone? No, I don't think so," Susan said to herself.

"But Parkinson is with Malfoy, Greengrass is with Zabini, Mandy is with Michael Corner, and Lisa is gay. So that leaves us with Millicent, Isobel—"

"Wait— Lisa's gay?" Cassius asked, shocked.

"Yes, Wait— didn't you know? She's been out for over a year now!" Susan exclaimed.

"Oh— oh wow. I didn't know."

"Wait. Did you fancy Lisa?" She Asked with a grin.

Cassius smiled awkwardly and shrugged.

"Oh no, Cassius, I'm sorry, that blows."

"Yeah, it does," He replied, seemingly unbothered. He let out a 'hmpf' before closing his book and grabbing his bag.

"Where are you going?" Susan Asked.

"I've got quidditch practice. I'll see you in Potions tomorrow," he said. "Bye Susan."

"Bye Cassius," she called back as she closed her books as well and left to go outside and enjoy the sunshine.  
  
  


Susan sat at the Hufflepuff table with Ernie, Hannah, and Justin when she was telling them about her 'study session' in the library.

"And then Cassius said that you and Neville Longbottom would make a cute couple!" Susan recalled.

"What?!" Ernie exclaimed. "Susan, when did you start calling that Slytherin scum by his first name?" He asked angrily.

"Since we made a somewhat truce. I don't actually know if it was a _truce_ but we get along now. And we work good together, so we decided that we could call each other by our first names, and besides, Cass is way less syllables than Warrington," Susan explained hurriedly with a confused expression.

" _Cass_?! You have a _nickname_ for him?! Bloody hell Susan, you're fraternizing with the enemy!" Ernie nearly shouted.

Susan furrowed her brows. "I don't understand why you're so angry about this, Ernie," Susan said.

"Yeah, Ernie, you really don't have any reason to be upset, she's only his study partner, right Susan?" Justin stepped in.

Susan hesitated for a moment. Was she friends with Cassius? In her confusion about her relationship with Cassius, she simply nodded to agree with Justin. They were just study partners _._ And partners in every class that they had together _. But not friends._ Ernie seemed satisfied by her response and continued eating his mashed potatoes.

Susan was so caught up in Ernie's drama that she didn't notice Hannah staring curiously across the room at Neville Longbottom.

"You should go talk to him," Susan suggested.

"Do you really think so? He probably won't like me, anyways," Hannah said glumly.

"Talk about something you have in common, talk about Herbology," Susan replied.

"O—okay."

Susan watched as Hannah got up from her seat and walked over to where Neville was sitting. She shyly greeted him and awkwardly sat down at the empty spot across from him. As she did this, a student from Ravenclaw sat right in Susan's line of vision, blocking her from watching what she expected to be a very awkward first encounter for Hannah and Neville. She was praying silently that everything was going good.

Susan's prayers were answered when she saw Hannah stand up with a huge grin on her face. She was nearly hopping with glee back to the Hufflepuff table. When she sat down, she sighed.

"We have a Herbology study date tomorrow night in the library! Though, I'm not sure he knows it's a date, but either way, we're meeting tomorrow at eight o'clock, after dinner." Hannah exclaimed.

"Wow, Han, that's great!" Susan replied happily. "I'm so happy for you!"

"Thank you, Susan," she replied with a grin.

Susan couldn't wait to tell Cassius about his prediction of sorts coming true. Perhaps he could become a prophet, like Professor Trelawney claimed to be. She smiled to herself as she continued to eat her now cold dinner.


	4. Chapter 4

"Susan! Where have you been? I haven't seen you outside of meals and classes for the past week!" Hannah exclaimed as Susan sat down next to her in the courtyard, waiting for the carriages to arrive to bring them to Hogsmeade.

"Sorry, Han! I was studying extra hard with Cass for that Ancient Runes test we had yesterday," Susan replied.

"We never hang out anymore, you're always spending your time studying with _Cass_ ," Hannah sighed with a scowl. "We should spend the Hogsmeade trip together!" She said excitedly.

Susan smiled. "Sure, Hannah, that sounds like fun!" The girls smiled at each other.

"I missed you," Hannah said. "I missed talking to you, I can't spend every hour of every day with Justin and Ernie, all they do is talk about quidditch!"

Susan laughed. "I missed you too, but it's only been a week, and we see each other in every class and at mealtimes."

"That may be true, but you sit next to Warrington in nearly every class and you goggle over him during every meal. I swear you purposely sit on the left side of the table so you have perfect vision of the Slytherin table!" Hannah said.

"I do not _goggle_!" Susan exclaimed, somewhat disturbed by what her best friend was accusing her of.

"That's right, you just _drool_ over him!" Hannah teased, standing up as she saw the carriages arriving in the distance.

Susan scoffed and stood up as well, dusting off the back of her pants, making sure she had no dirt on them. "You, Hannah Abbott, are the worst best friend I could ask for," Susan grinned.

"You're just in denial, Sue, you'll come to terms with reality soon enough."

"Whatever you say, Hannah, but I _do not_ like him," Susan said as Ernie and Justin appeared behind them, all four piling in to an empty carriage.

"You don't like who?" Ernie asked.

"Nobody," Hannah said and giggled.

"Come on, Susan, just tell us," Ernie pressed.

"I don't have anything to tell," Susan said. "Because I don't fancy anyone."

"Well who was it that you don't fancy, then?"

"Nobody," she repeated.

"Well that just makes no sense then, Susan. You just said that you don't fancy anybody, but when I asked who you _don't_ fancy, you said nobody again, which declares that you fancy _everybody._ So which is it? Do you fancy nobody, or do you fancy _everybody_?"

"Ernie, would you _shut up_? She said she doesn't fancy anyone, so leave her alone," Hannah snapped. The two girls rolled their eyes at each other and looked out the window as they approached the village. It looked as spectacular as ever, the cobblestone streets were occupied by wizards in fashionable garb, and the colours of the storefronts were vibrantly contrasted against the orange and brown leaves that had fallen onto the ground near them.

The carriage came to a halt and Hannah opened the door and hopped out before backing up to let Susan do the same. When the girls started walking, Ernie and Justin called out to them.

"Where are you two going?" Justin Asked. "We thought we were all going to the Three Broomsticks?"

"Maybe later!" Susan called back.

"Yeah, we're having girls time," Hannah added. The girls laughed as they turned around and ran into the nearest clothing shop.

"So, you still haven't told me about your study date with Neville! What happened?" Susan asked as she and Hannah went to opposite sides of the racks and looked through clothing.

"It was okay. I don't think he knows it was a date, though he did seem a bit skittish," Hannah said with a small laugh as she held up a pink frivolous skirt covered in ruffles and sequins for Susan to see.

Susan shook her head at the skirt. "Too... flamboyant," she judged. "Did you drop any clues about it being a date?"

"Well, after he agreed to it, I said 'it's a date!,' and when Weasley asked to join, I told him no," she explained as Susan held up a navy blue tee shirt with small white dots. "That looks like someone accidentally splashed white paint on you. Not a cute look."

Susan raised her eyebrows and laughed before putting the shirt back down on the rack. "Well what was it like, besides being skittish, what was he like? Did he say anything in particular to make you think it wasn'ta date?" She asked.

"Well, we mainly focused our conversation on Herbology, but talked about what subjects we do and don't like. We both hate potions, and we both love Herbology. The only subject we didn't completely agree on was Charms. I absolutely love Charms, and I adore Professor Flitwick, but Neville, however, simply said he was neutral about it. He said he neither hated nor loved Charms, and felt the same way about Flitwick!" Hannah exclaimed.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I love Charms too," Susan said.

Hannah grinned. "I swear, if it doesn't work out with Neville, and you don't work out with Cassius, we should just marry each other. We're basically soulmates," Hannah laughed.

"Meant to be," Susan laughed along and the two girls moved on to another rack.   
  
  


Susan and Hannah were in the crowded shop of Honeydukes when the bells on the door chimed for a fifth time during the ten minutes that they had spent in the shop so far. A couple fourth year Slytherin girls that Susan recognized from the school gossip walked into the shop, giggling about some encounter they had with an older student from their house, outside.

Hannah continued to talk to Susan about every little detail of her and Neville's date, and of all the times that they had spoken since.

"And then he said that he'd love to study with me again this week!" She was now talking about their encounter in Herbology, when he asked her for a second study date. Hannah, of course, said yes to his offer. She was absolutely smitten with Neville, and they had only been speaking to each other for a week and a half.

"He turned all red in the face, it was absolutely adorable," Susan heard her say over the crowd and the chiming of the door. A Slytherin walked in, still wearing their school uniform, but she couldn't see their face because of the huge lollipops that were in front on her. They were at least a half of meter large, and blocked Susan's view of anyone who walked into the store from the head up if they were over a meter tall, which was the case at least ninety five percent of the time. 

Susan watched as the fairly large student made their way across the shop. When they had moved from the section of her vision being blocked by the large lollipops, Susan realized that the newcomer was Cassius. The fourth year girls from earlier giggled and pointed at him as they whispered amongst themselves. Susan turned around to look at them when she realized that a couple of them were pointing at her too. She frowned and turned back to face Hannah who was still talking. Susan tried to listen but her focus was elsewhere. She looked up and behind Hannah, at the section of the store filled with different hard candies, Cassius was facing her direction while looking at special edition of bonbons which had apparently been released the week before. He put a package into his arms, which were already overflowing with different snacks, and ended up dropping every item in his arms. Susan laughed, which caused Hannah to frown.

"Which part of Neville getting scolded by Professor Snape is funny to you? Susan? Susan are you even listening to me?" Hannah asked, annoyed.

Susan looked up at Hannah with a quizzical look. Hannah turned around to see Cassius and sighed. "Go talk to him while I pay, it's fine," she said.

Susan grinned. "Thank you! I won't take long, I promise!" She said as she rushed through the crowd towards Cassius, who was kneeling on the floor, picking up his sweets.

"Need some help?" Susan asked as she knelt down to aid Cassius.

"Yeah, thanks," Cassius responded with a grin.

"Well, guess what? Your prediction came true!" Susan told him as she picked up a pack of Fizzing Whizbees.

"Which prediction was that?" He asked.

"The one about Hannah and Neville! They went on a date, and Hannah won't stop talking about him!"

"That's good for her," he replied, not showing much interest.

"Oh, come on, Cass, I bet you're some sort of prophet or something. You're better than Trelawney at least," she said.

"No I'm not," he replied. "Divination is boring, and Cassius Warrington is _not_ boring," he stated.

"Did you just refer to yourself in the third person?" Susan laughed.

"I sure did," he grinned.

"Don't you mean _Cassius Warrington_ sure did?" She giggled.

"Oh, shut up, Susan."

"No really, tell me another prediction, young prophet," She egged.

"I bet..." Cassius paused before grinning at Susan wildly. "I bet that you fancy me."

Susan stopped dead in her tracks, dropping the box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavoured Beans that was in her hand, and felt the redness flowing to her cheeks and the back of her neck.

"I absolutely do not fancy you," she replied very suddenly. "I guess I was wrong, you're no prophet."

Cassius' grin faded, "I guess not," he replied as Susan saw Hannah waving at her from the door. She dumped boxes of candies into Cassius' arms and rushed towards her best friend. "I'll see you in class, Cassius," she called over her shoulder as she ran out the door with Hannah, who had decided to buy Neville a Chocolate frog instead of a box of Bertie Bott's, which had apparently been a topic of conversation between the two of them at one point, which Susan did not remember.

"Do you want to go meet the boys at the Three Broomsticks?" Susan asked as they approached the pub.

Hannah nodded. "I could use a pint of butterbeer," she sighed as they walked into the pub. They immediately saw Ernie and Justin sitting at a booth, apparently waiting for them.

"There you are! Usually when you say 'later', you mean in an hour, but it's been at least three!" Ernie exclaimed loudly, throwing his hands in the air as he spoke.

Justin shushed Ernie before turning to the girls. "Sorry," he said. "Ernies has had about ten butterbeers too many." The girls looked at the large amount of empty butterbeer cups that surrounded the boys on the table and sighed.

"Sorry, we got held up in Honeydukes," Hannah replied, giving Susan a suggestive look. Susan rolled her eyes and sat down across from Justin.

"You don't want a butterbeer?" Justin asked.

"Oh, no I'm not that thirsty, and Butterbeer makes me nauseous, anyways," she replied.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot," Justin smiled sheepishly. Susan smiled back and turned to Hannah, who was sitting next to her in the booth.

"So what are you wearing to your study date tomorrow?" She asked her.

"I'm not sure! Maybe I'll wear my red shirt, the one with the sequins. He's a Gryffindor, he likes red, right?" She Asked nervously.

"Of course! I bet he'll love it, Han," Susan smiled and wrapped her arm around her shoulders and the girls grinned widely.

Ernie coughed, and the girls turned to face him. "What was that, Ernie?" Hannah asked pettily.

"Oh, nothing," he replied sarcastically.

"No, go on, tell us," Hannah said.

"No, no, it's nothing."

"It's fine, go on, let it out, Ernie," Hannah pressed

"No, really, I'm fine," Ernie said.

"Well, then you'd better go to the infirmary and see Madame Pomfrey, because I don't want to catch any of your bullshit," Hannah snapped.

Ernie rolled his eyes. "Come on, Justin, let's go," he said as he stood up and started walking away. Justin stood up and looked at the girls apologetically and shrugged before mouthing an apology. Hannah shook her head and Susan looked confused at the two boys left the store.

"What was all that about?" Susan asked.

"Oh, Ernie's been terrible ever since you started studying with Warrington, and he got even worse after I went on my date with Neville. I think he's just jealous that we've actually got other friends, and that he's stuck with just us," she said. "Either that, or he's in love with us," she laughed.

"So he's jealous?" Susan asked, shocked.

"I know! I've been jealous of people plenty of times, but I don't act irrational go the people I envy," Hannah replied. "I just treat them the way I always do, and keep my emotions inside."

"Okay, but you're a Abbott, Han, and I'm a Bones. Me and you, we've been taught to do that since we were little girls so we don't embarrass our families. Ernie didn't grow up having a to have natural face and a poised posture every time he stepped out of his home, out of his bedroom, even," Susan said.

"That's true, I suppose. Ernie still needs to work on his anger management, though."

"So do you, it seems. What was that? Why did you snap at Ernie when he coughed?"

"Because I heard what he said! And it was too foul for me to even think about repeating it," Hannah sighed.

Susan looked at Hannah with wide eyes. "Wait, that was _Ernie_? I thought there was a Slytherin nearby!"

"You heard him too?" Hannah Asked.

"Yes! But I didn't believe it was him. We need to go, now."

"What? Why? We just got here twenty minutes ago!" Hannah complained as Susan dragged her out of the pub. "Where are we going?"

"To kick Ernie's arse!"


	5. Chapter 5

Susan and Hannah slowly walked into the Great Hall for breakfast, a few days before Halloween. Yawning, they sat down next to Ernie and Justin, who were in the midst of a conversation.

"This match between Slytherin and Gryffindor is going to be intense! I heard that Potter and Malfoy got into _another_ fight, so there's bound to be blood," Justin said.

"I don't doubt it. Especially with how the Slytherins acted at the last Gryffindor match, with Weasley being Keeper, and all," Ernie replied.

Hannah sighed, "I swear you boys only talk about quidditch! Don't you enjoy doing anything else?"

The two boys turned to face Hannah. "Not really," Justin shrugged as Ernie started stuffing his face with food, staring at the table.

"Really?" Susan Asked, shocked. "Cass actually _plays_ quidditch, and he barely talks about it. He prefers to leave it for when he's on the pitch."

Ernie's head shot up, his eyes filled with confusion and anger. "When do you talk with Warrington outside of class?" He asked with a mouthful of food, which made it sound like "web do yiu chalk shith jarton ounsite ov clath?"

"Ernie, don't talk while you eat, it's absolutely filthy," Susan warned.

Ernie swallowed then opened his mouth mockingly, showing that he was finished, then spoke again. "Since when do you talk to Warrington outside of class?" He asked again.

"In study hall, in the library after dinner, in the hallway on our way to class, whenever we run into each other, anytime, really," Susan replied.

"That— that's absurd! Why are you talking to that— that— Death Eater?!"

"Ernie Macmillan! What on Earth has gotten into you? Why the hell would you call Cass that? He is _not_ a death eater!" Susan whispered angrily, trying to control her temper.

"Because he is—"

"Shut up, Ernie! You're just jealous because Susan has friends other than you and Justin. Maybe if you were more open minded, you would be able to make friends as well, but seeing as you're a narcissistic arse, I don't believe that will be happening anytime soon!" Hannah shouted. Many students around the group of four stopped talking and stared at them. Hannah grabbed Susan by the arm and the two girls fled the Great Hall, leaving Justin alone with Ernie, who was cursing loudly at the girls.

Neither of them noticed Cassius stand up from the Slytherin table and start to follow them until Ernie started shouting at him as well.

"Oi! Warrington you stay away from them! Don't you dare go hear them, leave them alone you bloody Death Eater!"

At Ernie's words, many of the Slytherin students stood up and started shouting and hissing at Ernie, trying to defend theirs's and Cassius' honour.

"You'd better watch your back, MacMillan! The next time we hear our house name in your mouth, we won't hesitate to hurt you!" One seventh year Slytherin student shouted. Ernie's face became red and he stood up and chased after Susan, Hannah and Cassius, leaving Justin alone in second-hand embarrassment at the Hufflepuff table.

As Ernie reached Cassius, who was still a way away from the girls, he pushed him, only budging him slightly instead of his intention to knock him over. Cassius turned around, his eyes shocked, but his mouth smiling wickedly.

"MacMillan, I really didn't think you had it in you to be such an arse," he laughed.

"Well— well you were wrong then, weren't you!" Ernie exclaimed, surprised and scared that Cassius wasn't beating the life out of him.

"You surprise me, MacMillan. Clearly not all Hufflepuffs have good intentions like I thought. Susan said—"

"You keep Susan's name out of your mouth! You're nothing but a Death Eater, and Susan doesn't need any bad influences to corrupt her into joining the dark side!"

"How many times do you have to be told to get this through your thick skull? I am _NOT_ a Death Eater-- but if I was, you'd be the first to go," he growled, shoving Ernie into the wall, his hand grabbing Ernie by the shirt, his other fist ready to pulverize his face.

"Cass! Stop! What are you doing?!" Cassius heard from behind him. He let go of Ernie and turned around to face Susan, who had a look of worry on her face. Ernie took this opportunity to pounce on Cassius, knocking him to the ground and stealing the air from his lungs. Cassius gasped for breath as Ernie sat on his stomach and smacked and punched him repeatedly in the face, and punching him once in the throat, making Cassius choke. Susan ran over and tried to pull the Hufflepuff off of Cassius, but it was too late. Cassius flipped them over and punched Ernie forcefully in the nose, making his head snap back and hit the floor. Ernie was knocked unconscious and Cassius stood up and spat on him.

Susan grabbed Cassius by the arm and spun him around to face her. "Bloody hell! Cassius Warrington what were you thinking?! You've concussed him! What's wrong with you?!"

"What— what's wrong with me?! What's wrong with you?! How could you let him speak to you like that? He was being a complete arse and you didn't even fight back! I was defending you!"

"And I didn't ask or need you to! I am fully well capable of defending myself! Now Ernie is laying unconscious on the ground because of you!" Susan shouted. During their argument, students started coming out of the Great Hall and were getting ready to go to classes. When they all saw Susan, Ernie and Cassius, they stopped, and the hall fell silent.

"What— What is going on here?!" Professor McGonagall roared when she saw Ernie on the ground. "Mr. Warrington! What have you done? Ms. Abbott, go get Madame Pomfrey and tell her what's happened," she said as Hannah turned around the corner, shocked at the sight before her. Hannah turned around and ran to the Hospital wing, and Professor McGonagall turned back to Susan and Cassius. "The two of you, come with me now!" She stormed to what Susan and Cassius could only assume was the headmaster's office as Madame Pomfrey and one of her students helped carry Ernie to the hospital wing.

Cassius turned his head to try and explain himself to Susan again, but her face, clad in a stone cold expression, was facing away from him. The steps of the deputy headmistress in front of them were loud and angry, and when they reached a large statue of a gargoyle, she halted to a stop and turned to face the two students with an angry glare.

"I have no clue what is going on here, but this behaviour is beyond unacceptable," she spat. "Regardless of what consequences the Headmaster orders, you willbe spending every nights detention with me for _at least_ two months. Is that understood?"

Cassius and Susan gulped as they nodded their heads silently in fear, not wanting to cause the professor to get any angrier with them. Professor McGonagall sighed before announcing the password to the gargoyle. It slid to the side, leading Susan and Cassius to a spiral staircase to which they presumed lead to the headmaster's office, neither of them having been there before.

Susan lead the way, stomping up the stairs in silence, not wanting to look at Cassius for fear of hurting him or herself out of vexation. When the two had reached the door of the headmaster's office, Susan drew deep breaths, collecting herself, before rapping quietly on the door.

"Come in," she heard the soft voice of Professor Dumbledore call from the other side. Susan opened the door and sulked towards the headmaster's desk, guilt and sorrow weighing her down, though she had done no wrong.

"The two of you have caused quite a disruption in our school," Professor Dumbledore stated clearly as the two stood at the opposite end of his desk. Dumbledore turned to face Cassius. "Mister Warrington, would you care to explain your actions?"

Cassius cleared his throat quickly before pausing. "I-I don't really remember, Sir. I was acting out of rage, you see."

"Ah, yes, young love is one of the most dangerous weapons out there. But heed my words, the both of you. Do not contain your love, for when it emerges, it brings along pain and suffering like no other. Let your love flow freely, allow it to spread from coast to coast, for if everyone felt the pure love that is shared between two young, peace shall be restored," Dumbledore advised.

Susan looked at the wrinkled and silver man before her, he was pale and shaking, as though he were cold, though the fire place was ablaze nearby, radiating a strong heat towards the three of them.

Dumbledore smiled dreamily at Susan and Cassius. "Well, off you go then," he said, shooing them out of his office. Cassius did not hesitate to leave the office, his face red as he rushed out of the room, but Susan stayed back with curiosity,

"Sir, why didn't you penalize us?" Susan asked softly, almost scared that if she brought it up, then he would punish them after all. "I mean, Cassius hurt Ernie so severely that he was knocked unconscious and had to be carried to the hospital wing," she added quickly.

"Love. I see the connection between the two of you, and I also know that love can make you act irrationally. I understand that Mr. Warrington was doing what he did out of passion."

"But sir, Cassius and I, we're not courting, and we definitely do not fancy each other."

"The love of two soulmates does not have to be shared between two people in love. Friendship has the strongest bond of all, Ms. Bones. Your mother learned that at Hogwarts as well," Dumbledore said. "That's why she was able to raise you with compassion and care, and that's why you will grow up to be as sensible and intelligent as her."

Susan smiled, her eyes shining, tears threatening to come. Susan had had a great respect for her mother. She was the most affectionate and lovely person she had ever known, before she had died two years prior.

"Thank you, Headmaster," Susan choked before quickly turning and exiting his office. The words of the professor had given Susan the strength to both visit Ernie and speak to Cassius without breaking down into either of their arms.


	6. Chapter 6

The state of silence that occurred between Susan and Cassius the following weeks was deafening. At times, Susan even thought that she heard a raged buzzing in her ears when they were in class, but put it down to a figment of her imagination.

Having the unfortunate task of being Cassius' partner in nearly every class was not paying off for Susan, for the more he tried to talked to her, the more aggressive Susan's silence became, leading to the point of Professor Snape looking thoroughly impressed, but not commenting, on her silent stunning spell, which was so strong that it blasted Cassius off of his feet and sent him launching into the desks, which were stacked in the far corner of the room, causing them to topple over.

Susan and Justin waited inside the Hufflepuff common room for Hannah, who was held back in a conversation with a very talkative third year whom she was stuck tutoring. An awkward silence filled the air between them, Justin usually spent his time with Ernie, but Madame Pomfrey had strictly prohibited anyone from visiting Ernie, who's concussion was so severe that he had to wear earplugs and a blindfold so that he wouldn't receive any permanent brain damage.

"I don't see why you won't just forgive Ernie," Justin said. "We've all been friends since first year, we all know Ernie's been prone to say stupid things."

"Yeah, well, when Ernie's ready to apologize to me and Hannah, then I might _consider_ forgiving him."

"Oh, give him a break, Susan! He's stuck in the hospital wing with a concussion! He could have brain damage!"

Susan huffed. "I doubt his brain could be any more damaged than it already is."

"I mean, he is a bit thick, he is, but have you considered that Ernie's just jealous that you've found a new confidante?"

"A new confidante? Really, Justin?" Susan gave a distasteful look. "Anyway, it's not like I haven't told Ernie that there was nothing between me and what's his face." Susan had recently taken a liking to 'coincidentally' forgetting Cassius' name every time he came up in conversation.

"Look, I won't say that I approve of Warrington, but if he's your friend, then he's your friend, there's not much me or Ernie can do about it. Besides, he's not that bad of a bloke. A bit too tall for my liking, a bit intimidating, and somewhat thick, but overall not bad," Justin assured.

Susan let out a 'hmpf' noise and stood up, moved swiftly across the common room, and sat down in a cozy chair across the room, turned away from Justin.

"Hey Susan, I heard about your aunt, how are you holding up?" Asked Eileen, a decently nice girl the year above her. Susan and Eileen had shared prefect duties in the past.

"I'm fine," Susan lied. None of her friends knew, except Hannah, who was sworn to secrecy by Susan, because none of them read the Daily Prophet anymore, but Susan's aunt had died the summer prior to their return, at the hands of Death Eaters. Eager to get out of a future awkward conversation with Eileen, who was well intentioned, but a terrible conversationalist, Susan checked the clock.

"Hey, er, I've got to go," Susan shrugged as she stood up. "Detention with McGonagall tonight." Susan hurried herself out of the common room. Her detention with Professor McGonagall wasn't set to start for another half hour, so Susan set forth toward the library, hopeful to get some studying in beforehand.

It was here, in the back of the library, where she saw what she least expected. There was Hannah, who was ferociously kissing a boy with blonde hair, Neville Longbottom.

Susan, deciding not to interrupt, moved away from the couple, and looked for another empty seat to do some work. The library was full of fifth year students who were studying hard for their O.W.L. classes, their teachers having increased their workload. Susan sighed, she was one of the firsts to have to go seek a peaceful potion from Madame Pomfrey last year, prior to her exams. She had broken down in the middle of Herbology with the Gryffindors, claiming that she was stupid and wouldn't get any O.W.L.s. Incidentally, Susan had earned all nine of her O.W.L.s, which was one more than her older brother, Elliot, who had failed ancient runes.

Susan sat down at the only remaining empty table with a copy of the Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook. Professor Snape, who was the subject's new teacher, was particularly hard of the students setting forwards into the N.E.W.T. level class, saying that they were too behind, caused by his incompetent predecessors. Susan, who only partially agreed with the pessimistic man, had been reading a chapter of the book each night, trying desperately to reach Snape's standards, as to avoid losing any more points for Hufflepuff.

As she divulged herself into the textbook, teaching herself the theory behind curses, Susan felt the table shake slightly as someone sat down across from her. She kept reading until she reached the end of the page, then looked up at her new companion.

"Go away. I don't want to see you," Susan told Cassius, who stared at her patiently with his own potions textbook in his hand.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but with every other table full, and your friends Longbottom and Abbott having a snog on the only other empty table, this seems to be the only place where I can study," Cassius shrugged.

"Then go study in your common room. I don't want to see you. Or talk to you, for that matter."

"Well, seeing as my house is throwing a party to celebrate the results of the Quidditch match against Ravenclaw, I had to resort to the peace and quiet of the Library. The peace and quiet that you happen to be disturbing right now." Susan let out a 'hmpf' and turned back to her book, trying to ignore the shaking of Cassius' leg; it shook the entire table.

Losing her patience, Susan stood up. "I can't do this right now," she said anxiously. "You're driving me mad. I'm leaving." Susan marched out of the library and started heading towards Professor McGonagall's office. Cassius was on her heels the entire time.

"Would you leave me alone?! Why is it that everywhere I go, there you are?!" Susan shouted as she spun around hastily, causing Cassius to crash into her, sending her plummeting into the ground.

Cassius held out his hand to help Susan up, but she hit it away. "I am fully well capable of standing up on my own, thank you," she spat.

"Well I'm sorry, I was just trying to be helpful!" Cassius replied angrily.

"It was your fault I fell over in the first place! If you hadn't been so bloody close to me, maybe you wouldn't have crashed into me!" Susan's voice rose both in pitch and volume, and a door swung open in the midst of it all.

"Both of you get in. Now," demanded the stern voice of Professor McGonagall. Susan and Cassius slumped into McGonagall's office and sat down in the chairs across from her desk. "I don't know what has gotten in to the two of you lately. You are both usually such good students (for the most part). Getting in to fights, screaming in the halls, handing in poorly done work. Both of you need to get yourselves together, or you'll both be on the path to failing your courses and god knows what else," the professor said disappointedly. "Now. You two will be thoroughly cleaning the desks today, _without magic._ I've had too many animals in this room, leaving scuff marks and waste on desks, I want them all decontaminated before I get back. And if the two of you get into another screaming match while I'm away, just don't break anything. I value most of the things in this room very dearly, I should not wish for it to be broken."

With those words, the transfiguration teacher left the classroom, locking the door behind her. Susan was left alone in a classroom with Cassius Warrington, some cleaning supplies, and over thirty terribly filthy desks. 


	7. Chapter 7

"What are you looking at?" Susan sneered at Cassius, who stared at her from the other corner of the room.

"Nothing," he mumbled before continuing to scrub the desk clean.

Susan rolled her eyes and did the same, there was splattered ink all over this desk, and many scratch marks from quills. She wished she could just _tergeo_ it all and be done with that day's detention. She was certain that if she caught Warrington looking at her one more time, she would lose her mind.

Susan and Cassius had been doing the same task during detention every day, cleaning desks, and somehow, they got messier every night! Though they changed rooms each night, they frequently found themselves in the transfiguration or potions room, cleaning up spills from mispronounced spells or badly brewed potions.

Eventually, after nearly twenty minutes of silence, Cassius cleared his throat and looked up at Susan. She glared at him before sighing. "What is it?" She Asked, a pinch of annoyance in her voice.

"We're studying together after detention from now on," Cassius said.

Susan let out a snort. "Yeah right, why would we do that? We're not friends."

Cassius frowned. "We've both been doing terribly in our classes! Wouldn't it just be brilliant if we could do better than Potter in potions for once? Have Slughorn look at us the way he looks at Golden Boy Potter?"

"I suppose it wouldn't be terrible— and Harry's a good person, don't go around saying he's not," Susan pointed out.

"I didn't— since when do you care so much about Potter?"

"Since he bloody fought You-Know-Who twice in the past two years, and I could've helped him last year at the ministry if I wasn't so bloody concerned about my reputation!"

"Relax, Susan. It wasn't your fault that you didn't go. You weren't with them, you made it out of that secret room on time, they didn't."

"I keep forgetting that you were on that bloody Inquisitorial Squad. Another reason I shouldn't talk to you—"

"—the only reason I was on that _bloody Inquisitorial Squad_ was because my parents forced me to. My mum said if I wasn't on Umbridge's good side, then I would be unsuccessful in my future."

"You don't need to be a kiss-arse to be successful. You need to be a good student— a good _person._ You have to earn respect, and you have to be respectful. You don't need to kiss up to bloody _Umbitch —_ sorry Umbridge— to have a future."

Cassius laughed at Susan's mispronunciation. "I suppose you're right. I wasn't thinking clearly, and I never wanted to work for her. I'm just glad I didn't abuse my power, like the others did. _What arses,_ " he whispered under his breath.

Susan stifled a laugh and looked up at Cassius with a grin. "I suppose a bit of studying wouldn't hurt anyone," she said.

Cassius grinned back at her, and the two silently went back to cleaning desks, with stupid grins plastered on their faces. 

  
Two more weeks passed, and each night after detention, Susan and Cassius spent at least two hours in the library, studying and doing assignments for different classes each time. One night, when they knew that the next morning they would be creating laughing potions, they studied the subject as hard as they could, eventually knowing the recipe by heart. They assured that when Professor Slughorn asked the class a question, they would be able to answer before that Hermione Granger, and when it came to brewing the potion, they found tips and tricks to make their final results perfect.

Their professors were all very pleased and surprised in Susan and Cassius' work. They began receiving top marks in every class, and their ethic was constantly being recognized.

"Miss Bones, well done! Mister Warrington, excellent work!" Professor Flitwick said, much to the chagrin of Hermione Granger, who hadn't yet been able to produce a Patronus in Charms class. Of course, Harry Potter was the first to accomplish the task, but it was well known that he had been able to perform a Patronus Charm since third year.

When Justin and Hannah questioned how she was able to produce a Patronus charm so quickly, she shrugged and said "I thought of a person who makes me happy."

When lunch began, Susan, Hannah, Justin, and Ernie (much to Susan's dismay), made their way to the Great Hall. As they sat down, Susan saw Cassius grin and wink at her from the Slytherin table. She smiled to herself and dug in to her caramelized onion soup. None of the others noticed Susan's adjustment in character as they debated over the best philosopher of all time.

"It's Dumbledore! It has to be— he discovered all twelve uses for dragon's blood!" Ernie exclaimed.

"But Nicholas Flamel created the philosopher's stone! He could turn any metal into gold, and it created the elixir of life!" Hannah argued.

"Which he couldn't have done without the help of Dumbledore!"

"Have you guys noticed how odd Dumbledore's been acting lately?" Justin Asked, veering them away from their argument.

"Dumbledore's always been odd," Susan laughed. "I knew it from the moment he said Nitwit in our first year!"

"But it's different now. He's been disappearing more than usual, I haven't seen him at any meal in at least a month."

"To be honest, J, none of us look up at the teachers table unless Dumbledore's making a speech," Hannah interjected.

"Yeah, I don't look at the teachers unless we're in class," Ernie added.

Susan rolled her eyes as Justin continued. "I'm just worried. If Dumbledore isn't well, who will protect Hogwarts? Don't you remember the state of his hand? It looked as though it were dead."

"He's just getting old! He probably came across something that was cursed by accident, and now his regenerative skills are taking extra time to take place. Besides, when Dumbledore isn't here, Professor McGonagall is just as good," Susan replied.

"I guess you're right, Susan. Dumbledore's just not as young as he used to be."  
  


A few weeks passed, and Susan and Cassius day in the dark library after detention. They were studying love potions, that was tomorrow's lesson it Potions. "According to _Moste Potente Potions,_ you can smell what is most attractive to you. I'll tell you what I won't be able to smell: whatever was on those desks that we cleaned today," Cassius joked.

Susan let out a bark of laughter, and covered her mouth in fear of Madame Pince's scolding if they were discovered making noise. "Flobberworm mucus, argh!" She said through a silent fit of laughter. "What do you think you will smell then, if not that? Rat droppings?" She Asked once she calmed down.

"Definitely. And owl droppings, mind you. What about you?"

"Hmm... well I'll definitely smell collard greens and cooked broccoli. Maybe even that fake cologne that they sold at Zonko's.

Cassius let out a fake gag and the two laughed again before getting back to their studies, taking notes on Amortentia. 

The next morning, they had double potions right after breakfast. Susan and Cassius sat at the back of the class, they had, unfortunately, both been late to class on the first day, and the only two seats left were in the back corner, and so they were stuck there for the entire year. This, however, let the two of them talk without being heard by Ernie, who was Susan's only friend in the class, because he sat at the front of the class with Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger.

Professor Slughorn passed around several small cauldrons of Amorentia, letting each student smell it and write down their observations. Susan was caught in a trance as she watched the steam rise in perfect spirals from the potion. She was only brought back to reality when Cassius asked her what she actually smelled from the potion.

"Oh— er—" Susan took a whiff— "I smell campfire smoke, and fresh dill, and— I don't know, something salty. What about you?"

"I smell caramel and strawberries and that chlorine pool smell," he said.

"Wow, polar opposites, I guess," Susan laughed awkwardly. Cassius let out a false chuckle.

"Yeah, I guess so."


	8. Chapter 8

Susan propped her head up on the palms of her hands, her elbows pushing into the library desk. Her eyes dropped and she nearly fell into the pile of books that lay open in front of her. She snapped awake at the sound of Cassius' voice.

"Susan! Dear lord, woman, wake up!" He exclaimed, waving his hand in front of her face. She looked at Cassius, and saw that his books were all stacked up, and he was shovelling them into his bag. "Let's get something to eat, I'm starved. Then you can go to bed."

Susan nodded her head silently. She was glad that she wasn't scheduled for patrol that night. She definitely would have fallen asleep on the post. Susan pack up her books and put her bag over her shoulder. Some food sounded nice, her stomach rumbled as she stood up, and the two took off for the kitchens, Cassius propping Susan up on his shoulder.

"I want something sweet, like pudding," Susan mumbled. "I haven't had any In such a long time."

"When's the last time you ate it?" Cassius Asked, trying to keep Susan awake.

"Probably the last time I ate a proper meal, maybe yesterday? Was there pudding at the feast yesterday?"

Cassius' grin faded and he stopped and held Susan by her shoulders in front of him, a look of alarm on his face.

"What?" Susan Asked, a bit giddy from looking into his eyes for too long.

"There hasn't been pudding at the feast in three days. What have you been eating?"

"I just grab small snacks while I'm on the go. I don't have time to eat at meals, I'm usually in my dorm."

"Well no wonder you're so bloody tired! You need food, Susan, you need nutrients! You've got to eat!"

"I know, I just haven't been sleeping well at night, I've been trying to sleep during free period or at meals..."

They were close to the kitchens, so Cassius pulled Susan to the portrait of the bowl of fruit and tickled the pear. They winced at how loud the pear giggled, but there were no sound of other people, so they entered the passage that had formed. Cassius sat Susan down on an empty barrel and called for a passing house elf.

"Can you please get her some food. A lot of it, please, sandwiches, snacks, and some pudding. Lots of pudding." The house elf bowed and scurried off.

Cassius turned to Susan. "Why haven't you been sleeping?" He asked.

"Bad dreams," Susan replied. "My aunt— she was murdered by death eaters last summer. I keep seeing her dead body when I fall asleep."

"Susan, I'm so sorry," Cassius said. "What can I do?"

"I don't think there's anything you can do. I need to handle this on my own. I never got the chance to grieve over the summer, we were so busy. First the memorial, then we had to go into hiding. I am finally feeling the weight of her death, it's all crashing down on me like a pile of bricks."

"Eat some food, it will make you feel better. You can't not eat, you'll kill yourself if you don't."

"I— I just don't want to live in fear anymore, Cass."

"I know, I know." Cassius wrapped Susan in a hug. "We'll get through this. Together. Now eat, the poor house elf has piled food on the barrel next to you. I don't want to see a crumb on that plate when you're done."

Susan let out a loose laugh. "Okay, Mum."

"Hey! I'm just looking out for you. I can't have my favourite person disappear. Besides, i need you."

Susan swallowed her mouthful of food and watched Cassius with wide eyes. "You do?"

"Yeah, who else would be willing to be my partner in transfiguration? You know I'm hopeless."

Susan barked out into a fit of laughter and nodded in agreement.

"Not cool, Bones, not cool," Cassius said with a grin as Susan's fit of laughter turned into snorts. Susan's laughter died down, and she began to eat more food. She hadn't realized how hungry she was. It gave her energy, and she gulped down an entire goblet of pumpkin juice, then moved on to the next platter of food.

"Alright, Alright, slow down, Susan. We don't want you to choke, or get sick."

Susan wiped her mouth and flashed a sheepish grin at Cassius. "Sorry," she said. "I didn't realize how starved I've been. It feels good to eat again, I feel like I could run a marathon."

"How about you sleep first. You looked exhausted in the library. You could do with some rest."

How could he be so kind to her, after she had refused to talk to him in months? She leaned against him and gave him a long hug. She inhaled, her head resting on the crook of his shoulder. He smelled like eucalyptus leaves, and mint, and— something familiar that she couldn't quite put her finger on— something salty. Susan smiled, she was finally relaxed.

"Alright, lets get you to bed," Cassius said after Susan let out a particularly long yawn. Susan obliged. She grabbed her bag off of the floor, and after thanking the house elves, Cassius walked Susan over to the Hufflepuff common room entrance.

"You're such a good friend," she said after letting out another, bigger, louder, yawn. Cassius pecked her cheek, and headed down to the dungeons, where he was greeted to the coolness of the Slytherin common room.

Blaise Zabini sat on the leather couch in front of the blazing green fire of the common room. He grinned as Cassius walked in. "Where were you, so late in the night?"

"It's not late, is it?" Cassius Asked.

"Yeah, mate. Nearly one in the morning."

"No way, we were in the kitchen that long? I thought it was half past eleven."

" _We_?"

"Yeah, well, Susan and I went to the kitchen for a snack after studying in the library. Well, you know what they say, time flies when you're having fun, right?" Cassius let out a nervous laugh.

"So you were in the kitchens all that time— with Susan?"

"I mean, yeah, but it's because we were hungry, Susan especially. She's been having a hard time."

"Mate, you seem awfully concerned about her, are you dating?"

"What?! No! Of course not, we're just friends..."

"But...?"

"But she hugged me, and it felt like fireworks were going off in my chest— and when we were in Potions the other day, you know, with the Amortentia..." Cassius paused and closed his eyes for a moment.

"What?"

"Well, mine smelt like her. I only noticed when she hugged me, she smells like strawberries, and caramel, and everything sweet and good in the world."

"Mate, I think you're falling for her."

"But she's not falling for me! She called me her 'friend!'"

"She will, I know it. What did her Amortentia smell like? Did she tell you?"

"Er— yeah, it was— umm— agh! I can't remember... it was... fresh parsley— Or was it dill?— and then there was campfire smoke, and I think she said 'something salty?' She didn't know what it was either."

Blaise came very close to Cassius and took a long whiff. "Definitely salty," he remarked when Cassius pushed him off.

"Zabini, What the hell?"

"Look, mate. She didn't know what you smelled like before the Amortentia, did she? Probably not, that's why she didn't know what that salty ingredient was. All I'm saying is that she's falling for you too. You're the final key to her heart, or whatever."

Cassius rolled his eyes. "Come up with that by yourself, did you? Look, I get it, you like teasing me because I fancy a hufflepuff, but she is so much more than that. Susan is intelligent and beautiful and inventive and ambitious and amazing and—"

"I get it, mate. You're into her. I'm not teasing, honest."

Cassius let out a huff. "Good," he said before stalking towards the passage that lead to the boys' dorm. "I'm off to bed, I'll see you in the morning."

"Night, mate."

"G'night."

As Cassius laid in his bed, he thought about what Blaise had told him. There was no way that he was the last smell from Susan's amortentia. He had checked, as soon as he entered the dormitory of sleeping boys, he sniffed his armpits, he smelled his clothes, he even tried to sniff his feet. He didn't smell _salty—_ he just smelled like plain old Cassius. He wanted so badly to be the final ingredient to Susan's potion, but he doubted that he ever would. Susan was too good for him, to kind and generous... so why did she smell like his potion? Was this the universes cruel way of showing him that he would never find love? That he was undeserving? Cassius sighed to himself and pulled the covers over his head. He wanted to scream into his pillow, but went against it, not wanting to wake up the rest of the house. He sighed, and after about an hour of staring into the darkness, he fell asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

As Susan sat in the sea of yellow that took over half the quidditch stands, she couldn't help but keep sneaking glances at a certain Slytherin who sat only a few rows in front of her. A couple of times, she caught his eye and waved, or smiled, and would quickly look back to the game, a flush creeping up her neck. As she watched the blurs that were her classmates in the Hufflepuff versus Gryffindor quidditch match, she could feel the intensity of Cassius' eyes boring into her, and she watched him from her peripheral. Every once in a while he would mutter to himself and turn back around to face the game.

Susan cheered and laughed with her friends. Hannah was on one side of her, and Justin and Ernie sat in the row behind them. All of their faces were painted yellow, Which was Hannah's idea. Ernie didn't seem too pleased, and kept scoffing in the direction of Cassius and the other Slytherin students who sat nearby.

Cassius would shoot angry looks towards Ernie whenever he did this, to which Susan had to give Cassius reassuring looks and silently tell him to calm down; everything would be alright— she would handle it.

Finally after Ernie let out a loud, exasperated, sigh towards the Slytherin students, Susan shot him a warning look, as if to say: " _if you don't shut your bloody mouth I will pulverize you."_ Needless to say, Ernie got the message, and was noticeably more silent throughout the game, except whenever a goal was scored, or when Madame Hooch didn't fall foul play on Gryffindor's part (which only happened once, but it was clearly a big deal to him).

Thirty minutes into the game, Hannah took Susan's arm. "I have to use the loo. Come with me?"

Susan grinned. "Of course." She turned to the boys. "We'll be back, save our seats." They nodded in reply, finally completely focused on the game. As the girls left the stadium, a large cheer erupted from the other side of the stadium, with many groans and boos coming from the hufflepuff side.

"Well, I guess we know who won the game," Hannah said with a laugh.

"Ah, it's no surprise. The gryffindor team is stacked. Somehow they're still the best team, even though the whole team graduated last year."

"Well, Ginny Weasley's proven to be a great chaser, I mean, as far as I know about chasers."

"Yeah, I don't know much about quidditch to say anything useful," Susan laughed.

"Yeah, lets just stick to the topics we know— like charms, and boys."

Susan grinned. "Speaking of boys," she said as they reached the loo. "I notice that facepaint around your lips are particularly... _orange._ Could one Neville Longbottom be the cause of that?"

Hannah blushed. "I may or may not have convinced Nev to paint his entire face red, and then snogged the life out of him in a broom closet."

Susan grinned and sat down on the counter as Hannah went into a stall. "How romantic, go on, provide this young prude with some details."

"Oh you should see my chest— completely covered in—"

"—Yeah I don't need to know _that much_ details, Han," Susan laughed.

"Hey, you're the one that asked. Have you asked Cassius on a date yet?"

"And face a second wave of the wrath of Ernie Macmillan? No thanks. Besides, we're just friends."

With a flush of the toilet, Hannah came out of the stall and started washing her hands in the sink beside Susan. **_(Wash your hands, y'all.)_ **"Maybe. Maybe not— and don't worry about Ernie. He's just a jealous git, he's never had anyone take fancy to him, and now he's upset that other people are taking fancy to us. Even Justin is getting attention— all the gay boys fancy him."

"Well, of course— Justin is gorgeous. If he wasn't one of my best friends, and if he fancied women, I would definitely snog him."

"Touché."

The girls left the washroom and headed for the hufflepuff common room. When they got to the common room, it was empty, which meant that the other students were still on their way back from the match. It was still early, so they sat down by the window that looked out on the grounds. They could see the forest in the distance, and Professor Hagrid's hut. The large garden that had previously been filled with pumpkins nearly as large as the hut itself was now empty, and covered in a layer of late December frost.

"I miss the warm weather," Hannah said as she pulled off her winter touque.

"Me too, but at least in winter we get those peppermint cookies at the feast."

"Oh, those make my mouth water just by thinking of them," Hannah moaned. "I wish I could eat those for every meal."

"I definitely would, if I had the chance. Besides being delicious, they would make your breath smell amazing all of the time."

"Perfect for snogging boys!"

Susan laughed, before taking off her cloak. "I can't believe you all leave for Christmas holidays tomorrow," she said. "I'm going to miss you all for the next three weeks."

"Don't worry, I'll write you every day."

"You'd better. I'm going to be all alone— just me in the Hufflepuff common room."

"Don't worry, I'm sure someone else will be here. A lot of kids are scared to leave Hogwarts, even if it's to go home."

"Yeah, but everyone wants to go home too. They want to be with their family..."

"Aw, Susan, I'm sorry you can't see your family."

"It's— it's fine. It's for our safety— after what happened to aunt Amelia... I couldn't fathom what might happen to my dad if he weren't under the fidelius charm." Susan felt herself start to tear up, and a lump formed in her throat. "I'm— I'm sorry, Han. I know that you're scared too, I don't want to be a burden."

"It's fine, Susan you have every right to be scared and sad and selfish. You don't need to worry about me, or Ernie or Justin, or anyone— just focus on yourself and your family. We will get through this— together." Susan let Hannah wrap her arms around her as she felt her tears start to fall. As they broke their hug, the hufflepuff students started piling back into the common room, and Susan wiped her eyes as they were joined by Justin and Ernie.

Ernie stared at Susan, her eyes red, her nose running, her cheeks wet, and a look of shame came across his face. "Susan, I'm sorry for being an arse. If you're friends with Cassius, there's really nothing I can do about it— I'm not saying I _approve,_ but honestly— it's your life, and I had no right to tell you how to live it. I just hope you can forgive me."

Susan gave Ernie a small, accepting smile. "Thank you, Ernie. Of course I forgive you, what are friends for, if not to argue and piss off one another every once in a while? We've been friends since first year, there's no way our bond would break over a few disagreements and a concussion."

Ernie grinned, but it faded as he saw that Susan was still upset. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"Not here— lets all go outside, I have some things I need to tell you lot."

Susan, Ernie, Justin, and Hannah stood next to a billowing oak tree at the edge of the forest. This was the spot that they spent time together— just the four of them. They had found this spot back in their first year, and always came here when they had the time.

"Over the summer, my aunt Amelia was killed," Susan said. Justin and Ernie's mouths fell agape in shock.

"What?!"

"Those bloody—"

"Stop—" Susan interrupted the boys before they started a commotion that would be heard from inside the castle. "It was the beginning of the summer, the death eaters were on a rampage. My father sent me to spend the summer with Hannah, and he put himself under the fidelius charm so that he couldn't be found by the death eaters. And— and as much as I love my father, I _hate him_ for what he did. His first thought wasn't to protect me, his child. He sent me away to Hannah's, where they didn't have very strong wards, and they had no ministry protection. He just wanted to protect himself, they couldn't even be bothered to check up on me. The only letter I got from him was three weeks ago, telling me not to come home for Christmas— which was after I sent him at least twenty owls."

"Oh— Susan, I'm sorry. That sucks," Justin said.

"Yeah, that's bloody bollocks! Your dad is a bloody arse! Not protecting you is like the most valuable item in Gringotts not having a safe. Useless and bloody idiotic."

Susan gave them a small smile. "Thanks, Guys. I know I've been distant lately—"

"—Which you have every right to do!—" Hannah added quickly.

"—but I promise I'm going to get better. I have to, or i won't be able to fight when I'm needed— and you all know I want to kick some Death Eater arse! We'll put all of those D.A. lessons to use, yeah?"

The four friends sat on the cold, hard ground on the edge of the forest for what seemed like hours, laughing and telling stories. They only headed back to the school when their stomachs started to growl. They had missed lunch— it was nearly dinner time. The sun was setting, and they made it in the doors as it was sinking below the horizon of the black lake. They continued on to the great hall. Susan has never seen it empty before— it was even more massive when there were no students in it.

The four friends sat down at the hufflepuff table and waited patiently for the rest of the students to arrive. When they sat down, a small platter of snacks appeared in front of them.

"Awesome!" Ernie grinned grabbing a handful of crackers.

"Does this always happen in between meals?" Susan Asked.

"I don't know— I've never been in here except for mealtimes," Hannah replied.

Justin didn't say a word— he just followed Ernies suit and grabbed a fistful of grapes and started popping them into his mouth.

They heard the _whish_ of someone's cloak from behind them, and Susan and Hannah turned around to face Professor Dumbledore.

"Ah," he said. "You four must be very hungry, if the platter of plenty arrived before you. Were you at lunch?"

"Er— no, Sir," Susan replied.

"I thought not," dumbledore said. "I did, however, notice four small specks at the edge of the forest. I trust you were not venturing around in there— it's very dangerous these days."

"Oh, no sir!" Justin said. "We just have this specific tree near the forest that we use as a sort of... sort of..."

"Headquarters?" Ernie suggested.

"Yes! We use it as a sort of headquarters, whenever one of us has something important to tell the others, we go to that tree so we know nobody else will hear."

"I see," dumbledore replied. "Well, I do hope that your issues become resolved," he said, looking directly at Susan. "I do, however, fear, that sometimes the arrogant are very ignorant when it comes to the needs of others, no matter how important they are to them. Do not hold them accountable for the traits that they cannot control. One can only wish that they are spared of the bad traits of their ancestors."

"Er— Okay. Thank you, sir," Susan replied.

The four friends sat in silence as the headmaster practically floated away. When he reached the door, Susan sighed. "I wish that dumbledore hadn't said that— there's no way in hell I will ever forget or forgive what my father did. If my mum were here, she would've set him straight."

"Well, you're always welcome In my home— Mum reckons it would be alright if we made the guest room into your permanent room next summer— if you wanted," Hannah said, the boys nodding in a agreement.

"And you can stay with us," Justin said. "Frannie loves having you around."

"Yeah, us too, all of my sisters love you, and my mum thinks you're amazing— she keeps asking if we're dating," Ernie laughed.

Susan smiled at her friends. "I'm glad I have you guys. I don't need my father— you're my new family."

The four spent the rest of the time before dinner eating snacks and joking and laughing. Susan was finally starting to feel happy again.


End file.
